Articles - Food and Drink

On 20 September, 2009, ABSOLUT® VODKA, makers of one of the world’s best loved premium vodkas, is launching a new flavour for partygoers in Hong Kong: ABSOLUT® MANGO. The only vodka maker to bring creativity, artistry, fun and the ultimate in revelry to vodka lovers around the world, ABSOLUT® MANGO will become available throughout the city. In celebration of the new flavour, an exclusive party will be held in early October at Beijing Club.

Groundbreaking and infinitely versatile, ABSOLUT® MANGO is infused with the taste of ripe mango. It features the sweetness of tropical fruit and the smoothness of ABSOLUT® VODKA. Aromatic and juicy, with a long, smooth finish, the all-natural taste of ABSOLUT®’s newest flavour will take Hong Kong beverages to the next level.

Following in the footsteps of the bold, stylish ABSOLUT® flavours that have come before, ABSOLUT® MANGO blends the perfect combination of naturally sweet mangos together with the taste of its continuously distilled original ABSOLUT® VODKA.

Just with one simple mixer or fruit juice, ABSOLUT® MANGO introduces yet another way to enjoy the purity and taste of ABSOLUT® VODKA. All-natural and made with no additives or sugars,  ABSOLUT® MANGO can be enjoyed in a variety of tropical, mango-inspired beverages, including its signature drink, “A.M.”, which blends one part ABSOLUT® MANGO with one part apple juice for a light, sweet and refreshing beverage.

Join in and celebrate the world’s international love affair with ABSOLUT® VODKA and its family of flavours with the Hong Kong launch of ABSOLUT® MANGO, an exotic, fruity way to enjoy each and every night.

(information provided by the pr company)

Articles - Food and Drink

Cafe Einstein - European Bistro is Quarry Bay

One of Hong Kong’s most established restaurants/bars, Café Einstein, is delighted to introduce its new a la carte menu.

Head Chef Paul Hsu, who trained in Europe, has created an innovative selection of 8 new dishes to accompany the ever popular menu.  The new menu will launch the first week of September and will include:

Mexican Spicy Chicken Salad with avocado, tomato, mixed greens, lemon oil and tortilla chips $85
Pan-seared King Scallops with honey-garlic aioli, mixed greens and pistachio $115
Spaghetti with Chicken Cubes, green olives, garlic and herbs in a tomato sauce $90
Mushroom Tortellini with mushroom paste, mascarpone cheese, lemon juice and toasted pine nuts $95
Pan-fried Lamb Chops with tomato concasse, French beans, thick potato chips and red wine sauce $155
Roast Chicken Breast with butter spinach, sautéed potatoes and mushroom sauce $140
Pan-fried Orange Roughy Fillet with grilled tomato, ink pasta, fritter prawn and ragout of bacon in cream sauce $150
Braised Osso Bucco on saffron risotto and salsa verde $150

The menu is available 6 days a week, Monday through Saturday, 11:00 am – 1:00 am, and is accompanied by a daily set lunch/dinner menu.  To compliment the new a la carte menu, Café Einstein offers a varied selection of bold and beautiful reds, refreshing roses and crisp white wines, alongside its existing cocktail list, spirits and bottle beers.

Café Einsteins’ alfresco streets side seating is a great spot to see and be seen while dining off the new menu.  In addition to sit-down dining, Café Einstein also offers fresh and innovative takeaway lunch dishes from its consistently popular Café Einstein takeaway outlet which also has outside seating available.

Café Einstein is open from 11:00am – 1:00am, Monday to Saturday and closed on Sundays. Happy Hour commences daily from 4:00pm – 9:00pm. For reservations, contact Kzia Chan on 2960-0994.

Café Einstein is operated by The ninetysevengroup. Other venues operated by The ninetysevengroup are Post 97, Club 97, La Dolce Vita 97, Song and El Pomposo.


Café Einstein
G/F 33 Tong Chong Street
Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
Phone: 2960 0994


(information provided by the venue)

Articles - Food and Drink

VODKA, FLOWERS, SPICE AND ALL THINGS NICE

Suave Italian mixologist; check.  Lots and lots of premium vodka; check. Flowers, fruit, herbs and spices; check.

Portal – Work & Play at Langham Place is spicing things up with Italian mixologist Claudio Uccello.  Every Saturday, Sunday and Monday throughout August, Claudio will hold bar sessions teaching the art of vodka infusing.
 
In addition to getting tipsy on vodka infused with flowers, fruit, herbs and spices, you’ll learn how to make your own customised vodkas, guaranteeing you star notoriety at your next soiree.

Each bar session costs $98 per person and runs from 8:30pm – 9:30pm.  

Where there’s vodka there must be cocktails

For those who really take a fancy to a vodka tipple, Claudio has created a menu of 31 vodka cocktails, available all August.  We recommend the rose or lime martinis complete with vodka and fresh flowers.  The ginger martini with vodka, ginger liqueur, fresh lime juice and pink baby ginger is another guaranteed winner.

And in the spirit of vodka, let’s add caviar

To accompany the vodka, executive chef Paul McLoughlin has sourced some of the world’s finest caviar including Black Beluga from Iran and from Azerbaijan, along with 11 other varieties from Japan, Russia and China.  The caviar is served on potato blinis and is priced from $48 to $1,888 per 10g.

Reservations to Portal – Work & Play can be made by calling 3552 3232.

For more information on Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong visit http://hongkong.langhamplacehotels.com

(information provided by the hotel)

Articles - Food and Drink

Champagne and artistry: Barbro Andersson’s unique celebration of the Cuvée Belle Époque by Perrier-Jouët

Since it was established in 1811, champagne house Perrier-Jouët has encouraged artistic creativity. Drawing inspiration from the Belle Epoque bottle adorned with anemones created in 1902 by the artist-glassmaker Emile Gallé, a leading light of the Art Nouveau movement, Swedish artist Barbo Andersson is unveiling a composition in four separate acts depicting this prestigious cuvée, the champagne house’s ‘muse’.

For Perrier-Jouët’s Belle Epoque, Barbro Andersson conceived a sequence divided into four acts that retraces allegorically the champagne-making process, evoking along the way the white-flower aromas characteristic of this prestigious cuvée’s wine style. Her four pieces provide a unique, highly aesthetic interpretation of the cuvée and remind the viewer that making champagne likewise involves artistic creativity. As such, they echo the creation of Emile Gallé, Art Nouveau master and another devotee of floral art, who designed the Belle Epoque bottle for Perrier-Jouët in 1902. The pieces similarly parallel the work of Hervé Deschamps, the house’s cellar master, who composes each cuvée as if it were a one-off, much like an artist working in wine, fashioning his blends in a single, creative flourish without recourse to preliminary sketches.

It was probably inevitable that the House of Perrier-Jouët and Barbro Andersson would join forces, so closely do their respective worlds overlap. They share the same desire to take inspiration from, and transform, nature to reveal its full diversity and richness, its charm and sense of mystery. It is this potent alchemy between art and nature that both artist and champagne house sought to recreate via their collaboration.

Marrying floral inspiration and a transient medium that fades as the season passes, each of Barbro Andersson’s Cuvée Belle Epoque tableaux for Perrier-Jouët is available as a limited edition of 100 individually numbered prints signed by the artist. They will be on show this spring at leading wine specialists and prestige bars and restaurants.

The house is offering art-lovers and Perrier-Jouët enthusiasts a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win one of the original works of art via an online competition at www.perrier-jouet.com. The four tableaux can also be downloaded from the site as limited-edition wallpapers, with 100 available of each.

(information provided by the pr company)

Articles - Food and Drink

NEW SUMMER SEASONAL MENUS FROM GAIA GROUP

Hong Kong, July 10th, 2009… Taking the very best of the season’s harvest, Gaia Group’s Executive Chefs have added over 40 fresh new dishes to their respective summer a la carte menus – including for the first time, the recently re-opened new look Isobar where lunchtime diners can now choose from a selection of Isola favourites.
At home in the kitchen of Lan Kwai Fong’s longest established trattoria Va Bene, Executive Chef Paolo Federici is celebrating summer with an array of classic Italian favourites, whilst across the harbour in the Group’s contemporary al fresco dining spot Joia, Executive Chef Alessandro Angelini is directing his innovative flair to reinvigorating Northern Italian cuisine. Adding some colour to Costa’s a la carte, a new ‘Cheeses as Main’ menu selection is just one of Executive Chef Gianni Caprioli’s summer additions; his Isola lunch menu now also available in edited form from noon daily at the restaurant’s chic upstairs lounge bar– Isobar.
From appetisers and antipasti through main courses to delightful dolce, diners can relax and savour the taste of a Mediterranean summer with a glass of fantastic wine choosing from either Happy Hour prices on selected drinks at Isobar from 3pm until 9pm, or afterwork drinks with complimentary canapes at Joia and Costa.
Highlights of new additions

Va Bene
Sliced marinated swordfish served with parsley dressing and fennel salad            $158
Roasted rack of lamb in herb crust with baked shallot and red wine reduction        $278

Joia
Red prawns tartar with avocado, melon, buffalo mozzarella and green apple sherbet    $178
Sea bream with fennel salad in lemon dressing, beetroot, orange, black sesame and mint                                                                    $278

Café Costa
Grilled Camembert served on freshly grilled seasonal vegetables                 $148

Isobar
Italian dried cured beef with arugula shaved Parmigiano and lemon dressing        $188
Mix Italian cold cuts with cheese chunks and olive                            $188

New Vegetarian additions
Va Bene
V Baked pizza stuffed with grilled vegetables, ricotta and mozzarella                    $168
V Homemade strozzapreti with braised radicchio, burrata cheese and cherry tomatoes    $188
Joia
V Pumpkin ravioli in black truffle and butter sauce with almonds and pistachio        $168                                                            
Café Costa
V Breaded, deep fried smoked mozzarella with eggplant puree and spicy tomato sauce$158    


New dessert additions
Va Bene
Blended lemon sorbet with prosecco                                         $ 88
Café Costa
Natural yogurt panna cotta with fresh mango sauce                            $ 88
Isobar
Bourbon vanilla orange crème brulee with raspberry sorbet                        $ 98
Mini carrot cake soaked in rum with sweet sour yogurt and rum raisin ice cream        $ 88

Reservations are recommended. Call Va Bene on 2845 5577, Joia on 2382 2323, Costa on 2118 7600 or Isobar on 2383 8765.
NB: All prices are subject to 10% service charge.


Va Bene
17 – 19 Lan Kwai Fong, Central
Telephone: (852) 2845 5577

Joia
Civic Square, Level 3, Elements Mall, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon
Telephone: (852) 2382 2323

Costa
Lane Crawford, Level 3, ifc Mall 2, Central
Telephone: (852) 2118 7600

Isobar
Level 4. ifc Mall 2, Central
Telephone: (852) 2383 8765

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
For more details or reservations, see www.vabeneristorante.com, www.joia.com.hk, www.costa.com.hk or www.isobar.com.hk

Va Bene, Joia, Costa and Isobar are part of the Hong Kong-based Gaia Group, which owns and operates the following restaurants in Hong Kong and China:

Va Bene Hong Kong – a Lan Kwai Fong institution.  Tel. (852) 2845-5577
Gaia – glamorous al fresco dining on Hong Kong’s own Italian piazza.  Tel. (852) 2167-8200  
ISOLA bar + grill – spectacular harbourside dining at Hong Kong’s new Central waterfront. Tel. (852) 2383-8765
Cafe Costa – ultra chic cafe with indoor and outdoor dining at ifc mall.  Tel. 2118- 7600
Joia – contemporary Northern Italian dining at Kowloon’s newest destination mall, Elements   Tel: (852) 2382-2323
Va Bene Shanghai – voted Shanghai’s ‘Best Restaurant’.  Tel. (86) 21-6311-2211
Va Bene Hangzhou – idyllic Italian dining on the famous West Lake.  Tel. (86) 571-8702-6333

(information provided by the pr company)